Jacob's Ladder (String of Fate) (9 page)

“Why so trusting?” Ria asked, knowing Burgess was usually the most cautious of her people.

“There was also a priestess among their Pack and there’s a stone circle not far from here. The priestess and the female Alpha together are quite a force to be reckoned with. They are half-sisters and it’s clear they are on our side.”

“Half-sisters?” Ria tried to puzzle that out.

“Yeah, their mother was human. She was married to a human first and the priestess was the result. He died out here in the woods on a camping trip. A fox male found the woman and her little girl and rescued them. They were mated not long after and their daughter subsequently mated the current Alpha once she had grown up.” Burgess presented the facts, but Ria sensed there was much more to the story. He had to have had quite a conversation with the foxes to get into that kind of detail about their personal lives.

“All right,” she said, accepting his judgment on the trustworthiness of the fox Pack for the moment. “So what are our numbers?”

“A dozen fox scouts. The four of us and the entire beta team—that’s eight more—within the hour,” Burgess replied quickly, then looked at Ben Steel.

“Me plus three other ex-commandos, who are working with the fox scouts at the moment, getting the lay of the land. I’ll be sending one man up top to the stone circle to set up a guidance beacon that will help a few more friends drop in.” Ben smiled as if he had a juicy secret and Ria couldn’t wait to hear what the resourceful human had up his sleeve.

“Enough with the cat-who-swallowed-the-canary grin, already,” Jake groused with a chuckle. “Who’s coming?”

“A full platoon of Moore’s men,” Ben said with a broad grin. “I made a few calls and Burgess helped authorize the whole thing.”

Burgess sat back, clearly pleased as he spread his hands on the table. “I called Cade and he was able to pull a few strings,” he admitted. “You can’t get better backup than the Wraiths.”

Ria had heard of the secretive group that was mentioned only in whispers. That the humans knew about them was surprising. She looked at Jake with one eyebrow raised in question.

“Jesse Moore is a legend in Special Forces circles. Nobody knew he was a shifter except for people like me, and a chosen few. A lot of his fellow ex-Spec Ops shifter friends have congregated around him in Wyoming. It’s known in certain circles that they hire out for worthy causes.”

“Can’t get much worthier than this,” Burgess agreed. “The minute he knew who was asking for help, he agreed to send a full platoon. He would’ve sent more, he said, but they’ve been stretched pretty thin with all the action lately. He’s not even charging their usual fee. Only asked for expenses so they could get here fast.”

“Wow,” Ria said, laughing a bit at her own lack of eloquence. She was surprised at the caliber of help they had been able to summon. Maybe they did stand a chance up here on this lonely mountain ridge after all.

Burgess’s phone beeped and he flipped it over to check the screen. “They’re here,” he reported. “The scouts are bringing them up now. Should be at the cabin in about twenty minutes since they’re coming in two-legged with supplies.” Everyone knew the Guards—who were all shifters—could’ve gotten there faster on four feet, but without the gear that would come in handy when they were in their human forms.

“That ought to be enough time to meet with the local Alpha,” Ria realized. “I think I’ve kept him waiting long enough.” She stood and everyone else rose as well. Ria’s Guard surrounded her as she made her way toward the back door.

“The Alpha’s den is only a short distance away,” Ben said, acting as guide.

She and Jake followed Ben, with two of her Guard as escort, toward what looked like a rock formation. Instead of just a pile of rocks, it was the cleverly concealed entrance to a cavern system that held all the conveniences of home. Rather than rudimentary cave dwellings, these cunning foxes had created a unique sort of home, hidden from view, beneath the spine of the ridge.

Ria had no idea how far back the caverns extended, but she was very impressed by both the quality of the furnishings and the ease of defense. There appeared to be only one way in or out and it was a narrow, hidden corridor with twists and turns that led through a high rock formation. Snipers could easily pick off anyone who tried to come in that way. Ria sensed though, that there were back entrances and connecting caves in this underground maze that only the foxes knew. It was quite a complex.

The Alpha met them in one of the forward rooms, near the mouth of the first cavern. She could see more openings leading off from there, and was intrigued, but there was no time to explore. First things first. She had to greet the Alpha on his home territory and make sure all the protocols were met. Tradition was very important to shifters and she wanted to be sure to adhere to it as much as possible, even in this time of crisis.

She also wanted to take the measure of the man her people had been dealing with. While she trusted their judgment, it was important to make her own decisions. The Nyx could trust no one implicitly—except maybe her mate. Ria took Jake’s hand as they were ushered into the large room near the front of the cave system. He glanced at her, a question in his eyes, but she couldn’t explain. Not now. It was enough that he was by her side. They would be partners from now on. She felt an immense sense of relief—coupled with a tiny bit of guilt—that she would no longer have to shoulder the burden of her position alone.

Ria gave Jake a smile, then turned to see the man waiting for them in the front room.

Not just a man, she quickly amended her thoughts. A man and his arsenal, apparently. She almost did a double take, but resisted. She knew her eyes had widened by the spark of humor in the man across the room’s eyes. They were snapping golden eyes in a tanned face framed with—what else—red hair. The man was a fox, after all.

“Alpha, thank you for seeing us,” Ria said, moving ahead, with Jake at her side. The sheer number of weapons in this room should have intimidated her, but in this particular instance, she was happy to see the foxes were well-armed for what might come.

She extended her hand and the fox did something surprising in one not of her own species. He moved in front of her and dropped to his knees, taking her hand in his and kissing the back of it lightly, sniffing her scent from her outstretched fingers. His eyes closed in what looked like relief mixed with joy for a moment as she puzzled out his response to her presence. She didn’t meet a lot of other species all that often—especially not of the canine variety. Mostly she was surrounded by cats all the time and they were much more aloof, like their animal cousins.

The man rose to his feet and let go of her hand. His smile stretched from ear to ear.

“Forgive me, milady, I just never thought to meet the Nyx. I know it doesn’t show on the outside, but my mother—the woman who raised me after finding me orphaned in the snow as a baby—was
tigre d’or
. She met your predecessor once and was told she would have a child, but in an unexpected way. She couldn’t have cubs of her own, but when she came upon the scene of my parents’ murder by hunters, she saved me, remembering the Nyx’s words, and raised me as her own. So in a way, I have your predecessor to thank for being alive.”

“Wow.” There she went, being eloquent again. Ria almost kicked herself. She cleared her throat and tried again. “I’m glad my mother was able to give yours a message that helped you both. And now I understand what my mother told me last night,” she thought out loud. Seeing the spark of interest in the man’s golden eyes, she went on. “Last night during the new moon ceremony, I talked to my mother for the first time since she passed. She told me that things were coming full circle and that I would find allies among those whose lives had already been touched by the Nyx. I thought she meant my Royal Guard, but now I see she had an even deeper meaning in mind.”

“Your mother was a great lady. I’m sorry for her loss,” the fox Alpha said with deep respect in his tenor voice that brought a bit of a tear to her eye.

“Thank you, Alpha. She was the best and I’m glad she was able to touch your life in some small way. Your mother sounds like an amazing woman too.”

The man grinned. “That she is. Now, please, call me Alan, and welcome to the McCoy Clan den. My people stand ready to assist you in any way we can.”

It was almost too good to be true, but Ria didn’t doubt the man’s welcome one bit. Not when it was clear there were larger forces at work in this meeting than Ria could have imagined.

“Thank you, Alan. Call me Ria. And this is my mate, Jake,” she introduced Jake, who had stood patiently at her side, watching the exchange.

The two men shook hands and though the fox Alpha was slightly shorter than Jake, he was every bit as powerful. This was a meeting of equals, regardless of the fact that Jake was human and the Alpha had all the advantages of an Alpha shifter. Fox or not, it was clear this guy, Alan McCoy, was a powerhouse.

“Quite a collection you have here,” Jake said, making conversation as he looked around what had to be the Clan’s armory.

Alan beamed. “We try to keep up with the latest technology. A number of my people are gunsmiths and weapons designers.”

Ria could see that Jake was impressed as he whistled through his teeth. “I’m glad you’re on
our
side.”

Everyone chuckled at the truism and they were instantly on friendly footing.

Willard liked the way the other Council members looked at him after he made their latest plan work. There was no doubt that he had been the one wielding the combined power—and that was a lot—of the Council to raise the leviathan. Willard liked the evil creature, and it gave him a good idea for something he could do on land, as long as there was a body of water with fish in it available nearby.

He had been able to communicate with the creature when he broke through the final barrier behind which it had been trapped so long ago. It liked Willard for releasing it, and had given him a bit of knowledge in return for his help. The leviathan made it clear that was all Willard would get. The creature considered itself above the land-creatures’ concerns and would not be controlled by any force presently in the mortal realm. It would do as it wished now that it was free and would answer to no man.

Willard was okay with that. The leviathan would serve its purpose. It would wreak havoc on the high seas and contribute to the end-of-the-world thinking among the human population of the earth. Better to get them used to the idea that dark times were coming. Elspeth would be here soon and she would show them the true meaning of the term
dark ages
.

And Willard would be by her side, a favored son for having rescued her from her exile.

One last parting gift from the leviathan would help make Willard’s wet dream come true. The beast had told Willard exactly where he could find the Nyx.

Chapter Eight

A short while later, a contingent of Royal Guard moved in from the tree line, met by Dorian and Bronson, they were brought into the cave complex and introduced to the Alpha fox. After the formalities were taken care of with the local leader, the rather surprising leader of the beta team asked for a private audience with Ria.

She was a little shocked to see the man who took great pride in training her Royal Guard out on this mission, but then, Geir Falkes was a law unto himself. Never mated, Geir was a tiger shifter who had come to the
pantera noir
through marriage. His beloved aunt had married into the Clan and Geir had followed her from Iceland while still a young man, his own parents having died by the hand of the corrupt leader of the tigers who had recently been overthrown.

Geir had come out of the dojo where he trained the Guard to lead the beta team who had arrived as backup for Ria’s four-person Guard team. The beta team consisted of all those who were still on active duty in Ria’s service. She didn’t require a lot of people to keep her safe, just a small team of four with her at all hours. When she had a home base, they usually split up the day into eight-hour shifts, so she would always be covered.

Her Royal Guard had been down a man or two since her cousin Cade mated and settled down and his partner, Mitch, had raised hell over in Iceland, becoming the new tiger monarch. Geir had filled one of the empty spots by promoting young Bronson. The other two teams—seven in all—had gone ahead to prepare her next location while she made her way there with just the four Guards.

It took a lot of prep work to set up a new home base and lately they had been doing it every few weeks. Ria had been on the run for a long time, but in recent months it had gotten worse than ever. It was time to end that—here and now, if possible.

Ria and Jake, accompanied by her Guards went back to the cabin. Geir seemed to know Ben, and the two paired off to speak privately in the arsenal. When Ria and Jake arrived back at the cabin, the only people in it were members of her Guard. She was surrounded by
her
people and it felt really good to be home.

She had learned over the years of constantly traveling that home was where your loved ones were. It wasn’t necessarily a fixed place. Wherever you happened to be, if you were with the people you loved, you were home.

Ria sat down at the central table, Jake at her side and finally felt a moment’s peace. Things were looking up. She had her friends around her and support from unexpected sources. They just might prevail in the confrontation everything seemed to be pointing toward. They just had to live through the next few days and find a way to stop the
Venifucus
from winning.

“I’m so glad you’re all here,” Ria began. “Geir, thank you for coming. We can use your help. And for those of you who haven’t met my mate yet, this is Jake. He’s Cade’s brother-in-law. Some of you may have met him at Mitch’s wedding. Either way, he’s part of our Clan now and he not only saved my life, but has given me hope for the future.” She reached for his hand under the table.

“Congratulations, milady, and welcome to the Clan, Jake,” Geir said formally. “I’m glad you’ve found happiness. I’m only sorry it had to happen at such a trying time.” Geir’s gaze narrowed on Jake, as if assessing him. “I’ve heard about your rescue at the warehouse, and I’ve asked around about you since then. From everything I’ve heard, I think we can work together, despite the differences in our training.”

“You might be surprised how similar our training has been,” Jake spoke up. “But I appreciate the sentiment, and the welcome, Master Geir.” Geir’s eyebrows rose at the use of his proper title and Ria had to stifle a chuckle.

Geir probably hadn’t been able to find out too much about Jake’s background—especially not the fact that he had trained with the secretive snowcats. In all likelihood, Geir was underestimating Jake’s abilities, but he would learn. Hopefully he’d figure it out in time.

“Your friend Ben is an interesting fellow. Former
Altor Custodis
agent, isn’t he? From everything I’ve been able to find he’s changed his ways.” There was an unspoken, doubt-filled
but
on the end of that sentence that made Jake frown. Geir was being polite, but he was expressing his uncertainty about at least one of the people Jake had brought into their inner circle.

“You can check with the Napa Valley Master Vampire if you like. Ben has done a lot of good things since he discovered the taint in the
AC.
He saw some things he shouldn’t have down in South America while he was still in the service and discovered the existence of shifters and Others. The
AC
recruited him and he worked as an observer for them for a few years until he realized they were using his reports to target magical folk,” Jake explained in a calm voice. “He’s done his best to put things right since then and I have no doubts about his loyalty. He’s a good man.”

“So my friends who have worked with him say,” Geir conceded, nodding to the original four Guards who had been with Ria since this escapade began.

It looked like he was about to argue when suddenly Jake went silent. Ria looked at him and realized something was happening. Another vision. Perhaps not as violent as the one on the yacht had been, but definitely enough to stop Jake in his tracks. She put her hand on his back, rubbing gently in comfort as he gripped the wooden arms of his chair until his knuckles went white.

“What’s wrong?” Geir asked quietly, watching Jake with narrowed eyes.

“Unless I’m much mistaken, my
mate
…” she emphasized the word so there would be no misunderstanding of Jake’s place in her life, “…is in the grips of a vision.”

“Vision?” Geir repeated, his gaze going from Ria to Jake and back again. “So then the gossip is true. He’s a seer?”

“Verified by no less than Sophia Grantham,” Ria acknowledged, glad when Geir’s attitude changed. She saw it in the respect and wariness that now filled his gaze. He had badly underestimated her mate and he was only beginning to realize it.

After a tense moment more, Jake shook his head and tried to refocus his gaze. He looked at her, coming out of the vision slowly, but much easier than the last time she’d witnessed something like this. She smiled at him, concern deep in her heart for him and what he might have seen.

“It’s all right. You’re okay, Jake. All is secure,” she reassured him.

His expression hardened. “It won’t be for long. The leviathan stirs and the battle is coming our way. I saw a circle of stones. That’s where the battle will rage. It’s where it
must
happen if our side has any hope of winning.”

“When?” Ria asked, knowing they would camp out near the stone circle, if necessary.

“Tonight. At the height of the new moon.”

Any reaction was smothered when the door to the cabin burst open, taking everyone within by surprise. It was Ben Steel.

“More new arrivals,” he said in a clipped voice. “A tiger shifter and a couple of selkies are on their way up. Said it was urgent. They had to speak to you.”

“Names?” Jake asked quickly.

“Tom Kinkaid. I think the other seal is his sister and the other guy said his name was Beau. Beau Champlain, maybe? Sounded like his voice on the radio, though I haven’t seen him in years. He didn’t give me a chance to ask before dropping the radio and stalking off through the woods, according to the fox scouts near the road.”

“Sounds like him,” Geir added with a smirk.

“Beau was on the yacht,” Jake told them. “So was Tom. And he was in my vision. It’s starting to make sense. We’re going to need him and his sister. And the tiger.” Jake’s eyes shot to Geir. “Both of the tigers,” he amended.

Geir held his tongue but bowed his head, holding Jake’s gaze with respect. Ria was glad. It looked like all these powerful men were going to get along, which was a major step forward in securing everyone’s safety.

The front door of the cabin opened a few minutes later to admit two men and a woman. Ria recognized the shifter who had met them when they landed on the yacht. She had thought he smelled of big cat, but he hadn’t let her get close enough to know for sure. He had to be the tiger the scouts had mentioned. He looked a lot grouchier than the last time she’d seen him. A few of the men nodded to him as he walked through the small room to the table where Ria and Jake still sat with Geir. Ben stood nearby.

“Good to see you two still in one piece,” he said gruffly as Jake stood and stretched out his hand to the other man.

“You made good time. The question is, why?” Jake asked. “I thought Edvard was running diversion, not sending his people straight here.”

“Ask her.” Beau pointed toward the petite woman coming up behind him as he stepped aside to make room for her and Tom Kinkaid, who walked with her.

Beau’s temper was pretty close to the surface, Ria realized. He had been calm and collected—silent even—on the boat, but something had stirred his inner tiger and it practically growled out at them through his human voice.

“Please pardon Mr. Grumpy, milady,” the young woman said with a grimace as she walked slowly closer. “We had to come. Tante Sophia called and told me I had to reach you before tonight. It was of the utmost urgency. I asked Tom to help me get to you and Oscar the Grouch decided to tag along.”

“Sophia Grantham sent you?” Geir asked the question that was on everyone’s mind. “What did she say?”

“Only that I must be here to help guard the waters. Are there any waterways on this mountain?” She looked around as if trying to sense where there might be some hidden lake or pond.

“There’s a stream and some waterfalls down the ridge a ways. Even a few swimming holes farther down the slope and a small lake up by the standing stones,” Ben supplied. When everyone looked at him with varying degrees of surprise, he shrugged. “I talked to the foxes and hiked a bit. Wanted to get the lay of the land, since I don’t have your shifter advantages.”

Geir’s eyebrow rose and he looked at his group of Guards as if to say,
why didn’t you think of that?

“We scouted around a little, but we only found the stream and the small lake up by the stone circle,” Shelly admitted. Geir’s expression alone was condemnation enough and the four Guard who had been here longest each looked chagrined at the reprimand from their teacher.

“All right then,” Tom broke in to the heavy silence. “I know why we were sent here, but what can you do with Beau? I assumed an extra hand wouldn’t come amiss.”

“You’ve got that right.” Jake rose to shake Tom’s hand and offered the same friendly greeting to the young woman at Tom’s side. They’d met her once before, on the yacht.

“This is my sister Jacki,” Tom said for the benefit of everyone else present. “She’s like me.”

“Yeah, we figured,” Geir admitted. “Ben said there were two selkies and a tiger on their way up.”

Tom’s brows drew together in a frown until Ben stepped in. “The foxes have a really keen sense of smell. The scout at the base of the mountain said—and I quote—that the guy and gal smelled like seaweed and the big-ass tiger was on the warpath.”

Ria couldn’t help it. She laughed, and so did everyone else—even Beau cracked a grudging smile as Tom slapped his back. Finally, something to smile about in this harrowing situation. It couldn’t last, but it felt good to have even this small thing to laugh at for a brief moment.

Jake looked out the window, noting the angle of the sun. The afternoon was upon them and soon it would be night. They had several hours yet. His vision showed the time of the confrontation to be somewhere around midnight. But he didn’t want to see this day pass so quickly. It might be the last day they had.

“I think everyone’s here that we need to be here right now,” Jake said, calling the room to attention. “What I just saw changes things. The attack is going to come tonight. It makes sense. Tonight is the midpoint of the new moon, right?” He looked at Ria for confirmation.

“Technically, the new moon is tonight, yes. But I’m able to reach those beyond for three nights—the day before, the day of the new moon, and the day after,” she answered. “The connection will be strongest tonight.”

“Which is what they’re counting on,” Jake replied, picking up the thread of the conversation. “The
Venifucus
want to use the Nyx’s power to infiltrate the veil between realms and bring back their leader from exile.” Grim faces all around met this statement. “They’re going to try tonight, when your connection is strongest. The standing stones will offer us some protection, but there are drawbacks to the location. The waterways aren’t safe as long as the
Venifucus
is stirring up evil creatures from the depths.”

“But we’re over five thousand feet above sea level,” Dorian hopefully pointed out.

“Doesn’t matter,” Jake insisted. “They have a lot of magic on their side—and not the good kind. Water is their domain for now. It has to be suspect.” He looked almost apologetically at the brother and sister seal shifters.

“We’ll take the water,” Tom said. “It’s pretty obvious that’s why we were sent here.”

“There’s a small lake and then there’s a stream leading from it that trickles down the mountain, making a semi-circle around the lower half of the stone circle,” Ben supplied helpfully.